The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) recently hosted IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group meeting in Cape Town. To kick off the discussions, SAICA’s Board Chairman, Vincent Motholo presented to the group, sharing insights into his own professional journey, including his current role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He also highlighted priorities for the accountancy profession in South Africa and emphasized what it means to be a difference maker in the profession.

About the University of Cape Town (UCT)

  • Top university in South Africa, and in Africa
  • Established in 1829, it is the old university in South Africa
  • Approx. 30,000 students and 4,000 employees
  • Revenue exceeding ZAR 7 billion and total assets exceeding ZAR 15 billion, including investments exceeding ZAR 8 billion.
  • Applicable law – Higher Education Act
  • Reporting framework - IFRS

The Strategic Contribution of Finance 

UCT’s ambition, building on its status as the top university in Africa, is to create a global university that is uncompromising in its transformative intent, deeply rooted in academic excellence and that strives for social, environmental and financial sustainability. This is articulated in its Vision 2030, underpinned by three pillars: sustainability, transformation, and excellence.  

pic-uct-vision2030

Vincent emphasized how instrumental the finance function is in contributing to UCT’s strategy, given its connection to all areas of the organization. Reporting directly to the Vice Chancellor of the university, in his role as CFO, Vincent oversees a department of approximately 150 staff, with 8 direct reports covering finance systems and policies, treasury, management accounting, procurement and payment, financial accounting, research finance, commercial development, and risk compliance.

CFO-diagram-UCT

The finance team’s objectives directly align with UCT’s strategy with four key areas of focus.

UCT-vision-objectives

Divestment from Fossil Fuels

In March 2022, the University of Cape Town (UCT) Council announced that it had agreed in principle to the divestment from fossil fuels. The UCT Council stated that the in-principle decision will be executed in a responsible and transitionary approach:

  • Through the immediate divestment from internationally exposed fossil fuel investments and immediate investment in renewable energy and/ or a green economy instead of new investments in fossil fuels, and
  • In the local economy, UCT will work towards achieving a goal of being net positive by 2030.

Future Outlook

  • Achieving financial sustainability
    • With the sector facing reduced government funding, identifying alternative revenue streams is crucial to maintaining financial sustainability.
    • One of the eight teams under the CFO’s leadership is commercial development. This team is responsible for identifying and overseeing commercial opportunities for UCT. To date these include hotels, a conferencing center, rental income from movie shoots, an online high school, and a drive to attract more foreign students.
  • Transforming workflows with automation
  • Results-orientated productivity focused on delivering outcomes quickly
    • Emphasizing efficiency and work-life balance, shifting from a focus on traditional 9-to-5 office hours to evaluating outputs and outcomes.
  • Transition from chief financial officer to chief value officer
    • Partnering with the organization as a strategic partner, considering the broader risk landscape, and engaging with the faculties to understand priorities and being an enabler not a blocker.
    • Producing more meaningful reporting, shifting the annual report to an integrated report.
  • Changing team compositions and focusing on people
    • Composition of staff to include staff from other disciplines, including behavioral scientists, data scientists, sustainability experts, industrial psychologists.
    • Prioritizing mental wellness.
    • Emphasis on the importance of diversity in leadership and the need for effective capacity in leaders.

“Operational sustainability is not possible without financial sustainability.”

 

Priorities as Chairman of SAICA

  • Ensuring SAICA and the CA (SA) are the world’s foremost trusted accountancy institute and designation.
  • Leading a smooth CEO succession, having appointed a new CEO in December 2023 (SAICA appoints Patricia Stock CA(SA) as first female CEO | SAICA).
  • Leading the development of a five-year strategy with a compelling vision and mission. SAICA’s 2024 – 2028 strategy is its commitment to fostering a resilient and sustainable accountancy profession that not only thrives but also facilitates integrity and value creation within capital markets and across public and private sectors.
  • Established the Chairman Difference Maker’s awards to recognize senior members who make a valuable contribution in shaping communities, economies and society while applying the highest standards of ethics, integrity and accountability.
  • Proactively built a high-performing board through timely appointment of skilled directors.
Laura Takamizawa
Laura Takamizawa

Principal, IFAC

Laura Takamizawa is a Principal in IFAC's thought leadership team, focusing on initiatives in support of finance and accounting professionals working in business and the public sector. She was previously an Audit Manager at Grant Thornton, specializing in public sector audit in the UK, and prior to that worked for the Audit Commission. She also spent a year on secondment to the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), where she was responsible for managing their public sector and business network programs.

Laura is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), and holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Mathematical Physics from the University of Nottingham (UK).